Unsure which tariff to switch to

FlexiPack

QrizB said:

FlexiPack said:

27th Apr - 27th July (91 days) 1,152 kWh

12kWh a day during the warmer months seems quite a lot. That's something like double what I'd expect for a typical 60s semi.

We don't have a smart meter as yet but I was checking the difference between on spinning dial of electricity meter and boy, the difference in how much it spins when the dishwasher running is quite a lot!

According to the manual the cycle we use, uses 1.55 kWH. We use it most days of the year (not quite all). So going off 360 days use at roughly 28p unit rate works out about £156 per year if i'm doing the maths correctly.

1.55 x 360 = 558 (kWH) x 0.28 = £156.24.

wrf12345

Ancient meter may be well off on accuracy, does it stop spinning with everything turned off? Things like old Sky boxes consume serious power (when multiplied by 24 hours) when in standby, BTW. You can buy plug-in power meters (aliexpress is cheap) that show you how much is being consumed by things like TV's, fridges etc so do an audit. Take daily readings of the meter so you can get a feel for what is really happening. If your bill is based on estimates then it is likely too high and you may be in credit rather than debt. 

tim_p

FlexiPack said:

We does use a halogen heater on it's lowest setting from mid october onwards for about 3-4hrs a day.

Why do you do this when you have gas for heating?

Archerychick

As the others have said use your actual consumption rather than your monthly payments. 

Calculate what your last 12 months consumption would be for a new provider using the per unit and standing charges quoted. Make sure vat is factored or not as well so you are comparing like for like. 

That will give you your answer in terms of which is cheaper 

Officer_Dibble

The variable tariffs are both at Ofgem's price cap level, so the only difference will be Octopus' slightly lower standing charge. I don't know how Octopus come up with their estimated consumption figures for the initial quotes - ours was ludicrous, far more than we'd used in the 8 years since moving in. It must have gone back to the previous owners.

Careful of EDF's fix - rates are forecast to drop a fair bit and it's got a hefty charge for leaving early.